Cellmate 'tried to kill Epstein' just 18 days before his suicide, shocking new documents reveal

New bombshell claims about Jeffrey Epstein's time in prison have been shared, alleging that his cellmate 'tried to kill him' just days before he took his own life.

The US Justice Department finally released the files it has about investigations surrounding the late convicted sex offender, which include hundreds of sets of images and thousands of pages of evidence related to the case, some of which are heavily redacted.

The bombshell release comes a month after the Epstein Files Transparency Act was passed and now means anyone is able to search through and download the documents, which also contain images featuring several high-profile figures like Bill Clinton and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, though being in the photos does not suggest any wrongdoing or knowledge of crimes.

Among the mountain of documents which have been released is a report which claims that during his time in prison, Epstein, 66, had told guards he was being harassed by an inmate, who was threatening his life.

The Department of Justice released thousands of images (US Department of Justice)

Epstein had been in jail at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in New York awaiting trial over a string of sex trafficking charges.

According to the police file, Epstein had attempted to take his own life on 23 July 2019 - less than a month before his death by suicide.

A note from a prison officer read: "Epstein had indicated that his cellmate had attempted to kill him and had been harassing him.”

It is accompanied by an internal service memo, titled Possible Suicide Attempt, in which it was claimed an officer had been called to Epstein's cell at around 1.00am.

“I observed inmate Jeffrey Epstein lying in the foetal position on the floor of his cell, wearing a T-shirt and boxers. He was breathing heavily," the guard had recorded.

Epstein claimed the cellmate was also trying to extort money from him (US Department of Justice)

This led to Epstein being taken to a special prison unit to be observed before being placed on suicide watch.

Questioning from officers and a psychologist prompted Epstein to claim he was being targeted by his cellmate at the time, who he alleged was attempting to 'kill him' and extort money from him.

Epstein also claimed his cellmate had said that 'because of his charges', if he beat him up, officers wouldn't do anything about it.

After hearing the allegations and examining Epstein's injuries, a prison psychologist was cautious, writing in a memo: “We don’t know if it was a ploy, if someone else did it or he just gave himself a ‘rug burn’ with the sheet to call attention to his situation.”

Epstein told officials that his cellmate had threatened his life (US Department of Justice)

The files show Epstein had claimed the threats on his life had been going on for a week.

He was later made to swear a suicide smock, with disturbing images showing the convicted offender looking dishevelled while sporting the heavy-duty garment.

On 10 August 2019 - 18 days after the photographs were taken - Epstein was discovered dead in his cell after taking his own life.